particracyfandomcom-20200215-history
Zardic Labour Party
| Seats2 Title = Governorships | Seats2 = | Website = www.uniteforlabour.org | }} The Zardic Labour Party (ZLP), commonly known simply as Labour, is a minor political party in the Federation of Zardugal. It was established in October 3341 by a coalition of trade union leaders and officials to provide a centre-left platform to contest the 3341 general election. It describes itself as "an ethical socialist party concerned with promoting the welfare of working people and the basic equality of all Human beings" and arose chiefly as a reaction against the dominance of the right-wing New Democratic and Conservative Republican parties. Like most parties of its kind around the world, Labour is officially the political arm of the Zardic labour movement but operates as an independent political organisation, in which the trade unions are shareholders. The party is not as ideologically extreme as some socialist parties, emphasising State regulation rather than ownership of the markets, though it supports the return of certain services - like healthcare and energy - to complete public ownership. It is chiefly concerned with the welfare of lower income households and the improvement of working conditions. The ZLP is currently the second largest party in the Federation in terms of congressional representation, membership and financing. It failed to make an electoral breakthrough in any of the nation's five states at the 3341 elections, but won 224 seats in Congress in the elections of 3344, cementing its position as a major player in Zardic politics. History Early years By the year 3341, it had been over three decades since the Federation had elected a left-wing majority government, or given a left-wing political party a plurality of seats in Congress. The only two remaining left parties in Zardic, the Socialist Workers' Party and the National Populist Front, had not existed in any meaningful form since the 3329 elections. The last four elections had been straight two-party contests between the right-leaning New Democratic Party and the farther right Conservative Republican Party. It was in this climate of right-wing politics that, in mid 3341, Zardugal's trade unions and labour organisations began to work towards the foundation of a new political party to contest the upcoming general election. The organised labour movement felt that the choice between the New Democrats and the Conservatives represented a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" voting situation for lower income families, and so a new party was needed to fill the void left by the SWP and the NPF years earlier. In October 3341, trade union leaders met in the city of Red Creek under the front of a regular trades union congress. It was at this conference that the Zardic Labour Party was officially created and launched with the support of 999 trade union delegates. At that conference, the party chose former employment lawyer and prominent trade unionist Denise Simpson to be their first parliamentary leader, by a vote of 675 against 324 over rival Michael Stewart, who went on to become the party's first presidential candidate. The party contested the 3341 elections with a small slate of candidates running in all five states, but fared poorly. Having had little time to promote its agenda in the media, raise funds and connect with the electorate, Labour took a measly 0.05% of the popular vote and only won more than 10,000 votes in Saqueya, where Simpson led the party list. Not a single Labour Party deputy was elected to Congress. The party hoped to transform its fortunes by the 3344 elections, with a goal of electing 100 or more deputies and forcing a hung chamber in which it has the balance of power. In June 3342, after the Conservatives introduced a budget calling for a 55% reduction in public expenditure by 3344, Labour formed an anti-government frontbench alliance with the New Democrats. Three Labour leaders were given places in the Shadow Cabinet, with the portfolios of Infastructure & Transport, Education & Culture and Trade & Industry. New elections were called several months early in February 3344. Its fast-growing visibility, membership and funds vastly increased their popularity with the electorate from 3341. The party's leadership's aims were fairly modest - 100 seats. However, they surprised political analysts and even themselves by attracting the vote of vast number of former NDP supporters and even some CRP voters, thus winning 224 seats in Congress, lagely at the expense of the NDP. They took almost 30% of the vote, or nearly 20 million votes. As the second largest party in terms of congressional seats in Zardugal, the party took over the leadership of the opposition. Policy and ideology The first resolution adopted by the 3341 conference, titled simply "On the Labour Movement", outlines the core principles of the Labour Party, which can be summarised thusly: *Reversing the NDP's mass privatisation of public services; *Re-balancing of the relationship between workers and private enterprise in favour of the former; *Devolution of power to local government wherever possible and reasonable; *Developing a social market economy with the State as a strong regulatory force to curb the excesses of private enterprise; *Increasing the minimum wage year on year, every year; *Promoting and empowering communities over individuals; *Defending the fundamental rights of all Human beings; *Embracing an enlarged State as a force for good in society and the economy. List of election manifestoes #Dec 3341, Forward Together Organisation Labour organises itself into semi-autonomous regional branches in each state of the Federation, with individual municipal and local Labour parties in turn operating within these branches. Each region is given a share of voting delegates on its bodies and at its annual conference according to the size of their membership, weighted on the basis of the strength of their performance at the most recent round of federal elections. The Zardic trade unions play an important part in the organisation and decision-making processes of the Labour Party. In exchange for an affiliation fee, they are entitled to elect half the delegates to its annual conference on a regional basis, as well as a slate of candidates to its national and regional leadership bodies. Its annual conference is the highest decision-making body of the party. The ZLP's leadership consists of three national bodies: *the General Membership Council, an 85-member committee that meets every quarter to represent the interests of ordinary party members; 30 seats are reserved for union delegates *the National Executive Committee, which is the 40-member administrative body of the party responsible for the day-to-day management of its affairs under the direction of the General Secretary; 17 seats are reserved for union delegates, 17 for regular party members and 6 for congressional deputies; *the Congressional Labour Party, which consists of all the party's elected members of Congress, the leader of which is also the leader of the Labour Party. List of leaders #Denise Simpson, Oct 3341 - Present List of General Secretaries of the NEC #Charles Beckett-Smith, Oct 3341 - Present List of annual conferences #Oct 3341, Red Creek, Saqueya #Sep 3342, Darmoth, Kalvere #Sep 3343, Kostandian Bay, Unkassa #Oct 3344, Gatineau, Endirahad Electoral record Congress Labour Party Congressional election results, 3341 - present |- !Election !Votes (No) !Votes (%) !Swing (pp) !Seats (No) !Seats (%) !Change (No) |- |December 3341||34,928||0.05||N/A||0||0.00||N/A |- |February 3344||19,698,612||29.81||▲29.76||224||29.87||▲224 |- |} Presidential Labour Party Presidential election results, 3341 - present |- !Election !Candidate !Votes (No) !Votes (%) !Swing (pp) !Result |- |December 3341||Michael Stewart||27,662||0.04||N/A||Defeated |- |February 3344 (Round 1)||Woodrow Anderson||19,545,593||29.55||▲29.51||Progressed to run-off |- |February 3344 (Run-off)||Woodrow Anderson||28,676,484||45.82||▲45.76||Defeated |- |} Category:Zardic Political Parties Category:Zardugal Category:Federation of Zardugal